DEP levies $1.5 million fine for pipeline issues in Greene County
The state Department of Environmental Protection has levied a $1.5 million fine against Rice Midstream Holdings LLC for multiple violations discovered at the company’s “Beta Trunk” natural gas pipeline located in western Greene County.
Environmental regulators accused the company of releasing sediment-filled water into various waterways and multiple landslides near the construction site of the 7 ½-mile pipeline located in Aleppo and Richhill townships.
The company reported to DEP inspectors on Oct. 11, 2017, that sediment in runoff water had overflowed several erosion-control systems, allowing it to reach unnamed tributaries that feed Mudlick Fork and Harts Run. Inspectors found that the erosion-control systems were not properly maintained or installed yet, and seven follow-up checks of the site in January, February and March 2018 revealed continued problems.
That prompted Rice to voluntarily shut down construction of new sections of the pipeline so workers could stabilize the ground and fix sediment controls in the area by the end of last April.
The following month, however, the company reported three landslides around the pipeline construction in which some of the soil left the site. The DEP said soil was also stockpiled in a wetland and an unnamed tributary to South Fork Dunkard Fork during construction of a utility line crossing in another section in July. The slides were stabilized and soil removed from affected areas by July 5, the DEP said.
After the issues were corrected last summer, DEP approved a permit modification to repair the slope problems in December and required the company to submit a geotechnical design report with detailed plans for each erosion-control system to avoid future slides.
The DEP announced the civil penalty Tuesday. It was finalized Feb. 26.
“Protection of resources like streams and wetlands cannot be the concern of DEP alone,” said DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell. “Environmental protection and compliance must also be an operator’s top priority. DEP will continue to hold operators accountable when they fail to meet the protective conditions of their permits.”
The pipeline is now owned by Equitrans Midstream Corp. – a spinoff company of EQT – although the violations began before Rice Energy’s sale in 2017, prompting the DEP to negotiate the consent agreement with Rice Midstream Holdings.
“For this particular case, we wanted to proactively work with the PA DEP to resolve these historical issues and move forward in a compliant manner,” Equitrans Midstream spokesperson Natalie Cox said in a written statement. “We operate with integrity at all times and if something does not achieve the requisite compliance objective, we will take responsibility and do our best to implement the appropriate corrective actions.”
The line, which is within a larger “beta system” that takes natural gas from several well pads to transmission facilities, was originally permitted in July 2017.